Hello from Portland Oregon

Hello Forum!

My name is Annie. I bought a home with my son last year in SE Portland and one of my goals has been to have 3 hens.

While digging up a stand of banana trees, I thought, "I wonder if anyone would trade me some chooks and a house for these trees? I put an ad on craigslist, and voila! I now am the owner of a new little henhouse and 3 chickens.

I grew up on a farm in the San Joaquin Valley. We really didn't "do much" to care for our chickens except feed them once a day and make sure they had water. They were free ranging all day, coming back to the coop at night. We fed them corn, scratch, and table scraps. I don't recall any problems.

It's now 50 years later and I'm trying to learn how to care for chickens in the city, so here I am!

I'm full of questions.

I'd like to post a photo of the coop. It appears to have one problem and I'm not sure the best way to solve it. First, we DO have raccoons in the trees near us. So I need to be sure the coop is raccoon proof for nighttime. I can add a hasp and padlock to the nesting door, but am unsure what to do with this entry door that has a fold down ladder? The hens need a way to get in and out, but I'm pretty sure a raccoon could get in between the stairs when they're folded up, especially a small critter.

I'm thinking I'll put the wee henhouse up next to MY house where the banana stand was. Next problem is do I want to build a chicken tractor or do I want to just build a small coop? Eventually I'd like to put an asparagus bed in this place. It's sandy and in a good spot. But maybe I'll let the hens fertilize and debug it first. I don't know.

Also not sure what to get in the way of bedding, straw, hay, or sawdust? The lady who brought the coop used sawdust but seems that could be expensive.

I'm a 62 year old woman. Can handle a drill and screwdriver but that's about the limit. I'm thinking pvc pipe might be the easiest for me. Will explore here and decide.

Lastly, I THINK two of my girls are Aracaunas. I'm not sure of the speckled one. Can anyone help i.d. them?

Thanks, and I look forward to reading all your great advice on this website.

Annie

 

Thanks!
The speckled one is very tame too, which is nice.
She'll let you pick her up although she doesn't like being held for long.

 

Thanks for the response.

I actually returned the largest/oldest bird today after finding little white protrusions growing on the comb and down the neck. I'm not positive but was afraid it could be favus.

The chooks have only spent one night together. I'll keep an eye on the other two. Hopefully this won't have spread. I'm pretty bummed about it.

Excited to hear I have one Easter Egger. That will be fun.
Both girls are 5 months old and have begun laying although the lady said they were brooding at her place. Today, they explored the yard, however, and didn't go into the nesting boxes at all.

Anyway, thanks!
This is a great website!
I'm learning a lot!

 

Thanks! Great avatar! Lol!